A Story
by Boyzteam
Summary: The story is built as it goes along because there is not a set storyline. This is the Boys team for the Creative Writing Club at my school.
1. Chapter 1 Discontent

Our school has a Creative Writing Club, and this is the story being posted by the Boys team in our club. As President, I would like to say, FANTABULOUS START!!! Can't wait for more and hope the boys can keep it up! Reviews help give this team Bonus points! :D So in other words, PLEASE REVIEW!

(The Girls Teams story can be founded as a FAVORITE STORY on the Boys Fanfiction Profile Page)

Enjoy!

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Chpater 1 - Discontentty Discontent

The Sea was Calm. The oceans rolled softly in the breeze, and waves gently brushed the sandy beaches of Greece. On land, trees sighed contently, and grass swayed in the soft zephyrs that floated over the many islands. Everything from Athens to Thebes seemed peaceful, as if the gods were pleased and content with monstrous beings ravaged the countryside on this perfect day, no wars were waged, and no storms of anger brewed in the chests of mortal deities. Miles underground, however, discontent abounded.

In a dark cave, deep in the bowels of the earth, Echidna, the mighty serpent woman stirred. She unfolded the many coils of her snake like lower half, and slid across the cool, moist limestone. Donning her robe, she slithered off into the recesses of her cavern. As she slowly awakened from her still half-slumber, she recalled what had transpired. Just yesterday, another of her precious prodigy had been slain. Chimaera, one of her most treasured daughters, had been poisioned by molten lead. Some insignificant human had done the deed. Bellerophon, if her memory served, was the murderer. The Greeks had hailled him a hero, but did these meremen know that they had ripped out the heart of a loving mother? How could they understand? The Spartans, for one, sent thier childern to fight and die at early ages. The Athenians had, for a time, sent forteen youth every nine years to butchered by some beast death trap. But she supposed from this creature, the Minotar, must have had a mother as well. But of course, for that mother to let its child live alone for its entire life, Echidna was appalled. And then, these humans, presuming themselves to be the sole judges of good and evil, destroy HER offspring, who struggle to survive and find food on thier own. Horrifying.

As she slipped into the nursery, her monstrous children glanced about. She looked up at everyone, imagining how she could possibly bear to lose another one. Tears welled up in her eyes. She smiled half-heartedly at them, as if to show that she was doing her best. To show that despite her short comings, she still loved them. Little ones, with wings and fangs and multiple heads clambered and tigged at her robe, begging for substenance. But how could she feed them all. Some were so young and frail. Others were strong enough to find food on the surface, but she could not part with another child. She gathered up a multi-legged panther-like creature, and wept, sinking down into the floor with her straving offspring. Her tears began to flow more profusely, until she was bawling, and the sobs echoed of the chamber. Her children joined the plaintive chorus, a dirge that would make even a heartless mortal cry.

Additionally, Typhron was away. Echinda's mighty, multi-headed husband was off plotting a scheme to conquer Olympus realm of the gods. He had tried several times, but failed. The current deitic regime was not pleasant; they praised "heroes" and priests of thier temples. Then, suddenly, they would turn to a flood Crete for no particular reason. So fickle and flawed these gods were. Typhon would ensure that he and his wife would receive proper treatment, rather than being forced below the ground into a dark dank cave. Echidna had promised to not need him while he was away, but Chimaera had been hunting for food when she was killed. Echidna dared not send another of her beloved prodigy, least they meet thier untimely end as well. But if one was not sent, they would all starve. Perhaps a different approach would work. Rather than sending a powerful child to forcibly kill the food, one of her vast armada of children could lure a food trap. She called out for Nieph.

Nieph was lovely. Her brown hair fell like a shining waterfall down to her waist. Her eyes were a brilliant emerald, her skin a fair pale. Her movements were dance-like, rivaled only by the muse themselves. A soft nose and cheeks gave her an innocuous appearence. But all this was a deception. Behind her beautiful facade, Nieph hid monstrous abilities. She was easily as strong as twenty men, and could swim faster than any human athlete. Her most grotesque feature of all, however, was her mouth. Behind the small innocent smile of a curious child lay rows of sharklike teeth. Her mouth could widen and engulf a man's head, and her daggerlike teeth could slice the neck cleanly in the course, she was adept at hiding this, so she could easily infiltrate the land of Greece. She was unbelievably perfect; she could charm men, and bring them to the pit where Echidna could kill them and feed the beastlings. Finally, something seemed to be able to turn out right for Echinda and her family. Perhaps thier years of damnation were over, and soon, life would once again be livable. Perhaps.

_By Joey._


	2. One Last Adeventure

Chapter 2: One Last Adventure

It has been several days since King Aegeus had thrown himself from his seaside kingdom. None of the men Theseus sent could find his body for the funeral. Theseus sat at his new throne, having just come back from his own patrol. He was silently reprimanding himself when one of his soldiers burst into the room, carrying a set of familiar clothes.

He approached and gently placed the soggy bundle before Theseus, "My Lord, your Father's attire was found on the southern coast. We could not find any of his royal adornments, and this led us to assume bandits have taken them. There is a crew and ship ready to pursue the thieves."

Anger emanated from Theseus, "And what of his body? Where is my father?"

The soldier kept his head down and responded nervously, "We could not find any trace of his body. His clothes were tattered but there was little blood in the water."

Theseus swore, "And what evidence do you have of the thieves? Where will you search first?"

The soldier stuttered pathetically, "Th-the cap-captain is discussing that with-with his crew as we speak."

Theseus jumped up and the soldier flinched. "Tell him to stand down, I will lead this search."

The soldier was on the verge of collapse, "Bu-but what about the kingdom? Who will lead us?"

"Athens is filled with confident men, anyone of them ready and willing to serve their city. I will not rest until those thieves are found and what is left in this world of my father is treated with the respect he deserved in life. Athens will have to get along without me for a while." Theseus walked out of the throne room, offhandedly dismissing the soldier, who struggled out of the building and rushed to the seaport.

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Nieph knew that the group of men and the straggling corpse would not satisfy her siblings for long. It was simple to deceive the men to follow her to her mother's den, and the corpse was perhaps a sign that let to more food. A wicked, toothy grin crossed her face as Nieph hypnotically swung the royal crest of Athens.

_By Evan_


	3. Sea of Deception

*Tisk tisk* - very delayed! Great job... At the chapter I mean ;) !

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Chapter 3 - Sea of Deception

Theseus stood gallantly, wind blowing in his face as he and twenty-eight other sailors were traveling the long sea in search of the bandits who had killed King Aegeus. Eight long days had passed and there had been no sign of the bandits, or any ships for that matter. Many of the sailors were uneasy, for there was an eerie feeling in the black, empty sea. Theseus stepped back from the edge of the ship and called to the soldier who had seen the bandits on the first voyage.

"Are you sure this was the same route you had taken before?" asked Theseus. "It has been eight long days and no sign of bandits, or any ships which is unusual for the Mediterranean."

"Captain," replied the soldier, "we have followed every path possible for the bandits to hide, but it is very unusual that we have not encountered any trade ships. With such clear weather many ships should be traveling..." The soldier is cut off by the shout of a young sailor on the helm.

"Captain! You must see this!" shouted the sailor, with a strong tone of urgency in his voice. Theseus ran to the helm with the swiftness of an experienced Greek warrior.

"What is it?" Theseus inquired. The sailor pointed to the water around them with horror. There were pieces of ships, flags from different nations; but within the wreckage there was not a sight of one living thing, not even a corpse.

"There is the flag of the bandit ship!" exclaimed the soldier. "I cannot comprehend any force capable of causing such a catastrophe."

Another voice at the side of the ship cried, "Captain, someone lives! There is a young lady floating by port side!" There indeed was a young lady floating by on a small piece of wood. Her beauty was overwhelming the soldiers, making them forget the ghastly scene around them.

Theseus thought for a minute, and then ordered, "Lower down a lifeboat. Get that maiden out of the sea." The soldier quickly lowered down a lifeboat, and Theseus thought they were moving a bit too hastily considering they had absolutely no idea what could be lingering out in the black maiden seemed to be unconscious as the sailors lowered her down onto a bed in the captains quarters. The captain had willing given up his bed for such a fair lady.

After two long hours of anticipation, and all of the sailors had returned to their posts, Nieph decided it was time to wake up. Being sure to conceal her identity, she slowly stood up and looked around. The boat looked fairly well suited, nothing like the trade ships before. She concluded that this was a luxury ship of high authority, looking for the missing king and his possessions. She slowly peered out the door out onto the deck. She counts the sailors, and a baleful smile crossed her luscious lips as she thought of her kin and all of the food she would bring them. She slowly stumbles onto the deck, and all of the heads of the sailors turn.

"She awakes!" cried a strong looking man, who Nieph concluded is the captain. "My name is Theseus. We found you abandoned, surrounded by the remains of many ships. It was not a pretty sight to be seen. I am confounded by how you were able to survive."

"I cannot remember much," replied Nieph, "it all happened so fast. I do remember hearing a hideous laugh, and then there was a demon. A hideous demon that scared the crew overboard. The last thing I remember is an explosion, blowing the ship to mere boards and splinters."

The soldier looked puzzled, but replies, "A convincing story captain, and it does provide a theory to how all of those ships were destroyed. I cannot think of a way for someone, or something, to destroy a trade ship with explosions though." The whole crew was huddled in listening to Nieph's story. She thought this was a perfect opportunity to make a move, for her mother's cave was only a mile away and can be seen in the distance.

"Well..." Nieph started. She openeds her mouth wide to show a set of large shark-like teeth. All of the sailors were taken aback in surprise and dismay.

Nieph continued, "How about I give you a demonstration!" She grabbed one sailor by the head, and threw him overboard. The sailors split, some diving off the ship in fear, and others running for the storage to grab weapons. Nieph swiftly ran past them, and was able to smash the armory to bits with a powerful kick. The remaining nine sailors were stuck, as if there legs just would not function. Nieph took the opportunity to smash a sailor's ribs with a punch, and throw him overboard. One sailor tried to take a swing at her, but she nimbly dodged his punch and returned it with a sidesplitting kick which sent him overboard as well. By now the sailor's had gotten their wits and ran to the edge of the ship and dived off. Nieph took out a pouch containing a fiery powder, a gift from one of her sisters.

"Who, or what, are you?" asked Theseus, standing strong with a sword in one hand.

Nieph responded, with her hideous laugh, "Who am I? I am Nieph, daughter of Echidna. I have come to inflict vengeace upon the humans who have killed my family and leave us to suffer. I have come to kill the humans who glorify over our deaths!" Nieph screams as she throws some of the powder, which set the wood at Theseus' feet aflames. Theseus sees that he is unable to win this fight, and follows his crew in the sea as they are swimming towards an island in the distance.

_By Johnathon_


	4. A Fool's Journey

A Fool's Journey

Theseus and his comrades swam quickly. Though Theseus loved the thrills of a challenge, he was no fool, and wouldn't risk his life by facing down such a powerful creature who had on her side the element of surprise. So, they continued their arduous journey to the distant island.

Nieph stood on a small, still floating part of the boat. She debated chasing down the captain and the crew who were escaping, but loked around to the floating bodies permeating the wreckage. Deciding that they would be enough for now, and thinking that her family would be hungry, she dragged them ashore, several at a time, and brought them down the pit to Echidna.

When she reached the floor of the gloomy cave, slippery with the dripping groundwater, she called out to her mother and siblings, "Mother! I have returned with food! Sisters! Brothers! Come and eat your fill!"

Creatures crawled out of the crevices, small, wingless dragons with smoke flowing wispily from their nostrils, enormous boars the size of small hills, and an assortment of bizarre aberrations. Behind the throng of macabre beasts, Echidna herself slid across the damp floors of the cavern.

"Oh Nieph, how we have missed you," she crooned in her musical voice. She embraced her child and kissed her brow. "You have done so well to feed us. Without you, we would be wasting away! Tell me, were you safe up on the surface?"

"Oh mother, it is so good to be back. But the surface is an interesting place. So many wondrous things abound there. I have tasted OLIVES, mother! Such wonderful little things. And I have seen the sea, and MOUNTAINS!" Her face lit up at the mention of the fantastic sights splendors she had witnessed. "And the humans were…. Well, they were…. Nice actually. Yes, they treated me well."

"Don't be taken in by their guise of kindness," Echidna firmly admonished her daughter, "They treat you that way only because they believe you to be one of them. Trust me, they are fiends!" Her voice gained in force, "They killed your sisters! Those blasted 'heroes' are the worst! Heracles, Bellerophon, and bah! Theseus. THEY are the ones who killed your sisters!" Echidna continued her rant on the humans of the surface. As she droned on about the villainous surface-dwellers, Nieph thought: _Theseus. He seemed so kind. Like he honestly cared about me. Before I was so easy to despise them, but after I destroyed the ship, something didn't feel right. _As if arguing with a voice inside of her, she rationalized to herself why she carried the bodies back despite her guilt, thinking, _I owed it to my family, and they needed the food. Of course I still felt guilty, but, I couldn't just let my family starve. Perhaps I must learn more about this Theseus. But he would never be willing to hear me out, after my slaughter of his crew. I must capture him, get him alone, where he would not be willing to face such a powerful opponent as I alone. I must seta trap for him…_ Her thoughts trailed off into ideas for schemes to find and lure him into her trap. Around her, her grotesque kin devoured the corpses of the freshly killed Athenians. Absentmindedly, she swung the Athenian crest she still held hypnotically.

Theseus and his men had reached the island, and had found, after examining it for an hour or so, that it was not an island, but that they had reached the mainland. They had noticed a village on the horizon, and Theseus was willing to risk hostility, so he ordered his men to march towards the hilltop.

_Who was that girl, _Theseus wondered to himself. _She seemed so…. Innocent, and yet, she was so vicious. You know, she could be fun to pursue._

"Tenedius, come over here!" Theseus called out to his second in command.

"Yes sir?" he hustled over. Tenedius was an incredible strategist, just not the greatest soldier. He was fit, it was just that he was blind in one eye, and normally, would be unfit for service, but for a special request from Theseus. He was the greatest tactical advisor Theseus had ever known, and as such, he had to make him his chief advisor.

"You know, I think we should find out more about that girl who attacked us at the shipwreck," Theseus mused half to himself.

"Sir," Tenedius turned to Theseus with an incredulous look on his face, a look that always brought a whimsical smile to Theseus's face, "May I inquire as to why? That seems…. So…. Foolish."

Theseus chuckled. He knew Tenedius was to wise to fall for his tricks, but Theseus still replied, "I think she…. Well, we can't just let her _leave! _She killed half our men!" Despite the horrific incident Theseus spoke of, his smile refused to lessen in joviality.

"Theseus," Tenedius sighed, shaking his head, "I know this is just one of your foolish…. Stunts. You can't send your men on this mission! It's too dangerous and your thrillseeking ways are too…. Frivolous and unimportant to gamble your soldier's lives."

"Then I'll go alone," Theseus smiled, and said matter-of-factly. He looked over at Tenedius to see his reponse.

As Tenedius turned, Theseus's face lit up. Tenedius couldn't help sighing amusedly. "You know I wouldn't do that. Your father would not have wanted it."

"I'll make you a bet," Theseus continued, unperturbed by Tenedius's resistance, "If I can catch her, you allow me to do whatever I want, and cease your incessant attempts to try to control me. And, if she hurts me, I'll never disobey your requests again." He smiled congenially.

"Theseus, if I even allow you to do this in the first place, that is just like you winning the bet already! Also, you should already listen to me!"

"Come on! I'll _never_ disobey you."

"What do you mean 'catch'? And 'hurt'?" Tenedius inquired, "And just for interest!" He asserted, "I haven't made the wager!"

"Well, I'll get her to fall in love with me. If she kisses me, I win, and if she…" he paused to think, "If she cuts me, makes me bleed, I lose, and I'll leave her at once, or kill her if I have to. Then, I'll do only as you say."

Tenedius pondered Theseus's request. _The girl was so deadly. She could easily kill a man! But Theseus is not mere man, but a son of Poseidon! Perhaps the seas will protect him. He has faced mush worse before. And if he will listen to me from that point on, I could help him so much!_

"I…. Accept," Tenedius replied grudgingly.

Theseus beamed. "Okay, travel to the settlement up ahead, and ask about where we are, find out how to get home, while I go off in search of this mysterious shark-faced girl! Tell the men I'll meet them home, and that my business is strictly confidential. Pretend _you _don't even know its nature. I'll find my way home in a month or so. If I don't return that soon…" he paused again, "Send out a search party, and I want _you _to command Athens in my absence. Goodbye Uncle!"

"Farewell, Theseus," Tenedius smiled fondly, "And in the name of the gods, boy, be careful!"

"Of course!" Theseus smiled widely, and jogged off towards the ships. "Farewell!" He called back.

Tenedius shook his head, and smiled at Theseus's joy.

After several hours, they reached the village. One of the men asked one of the villagers where they were, and he replied, "Thrace. Where are you from anyway? Your accent betrays your foreign origin."

But Tenedius heard only the first word. Thrace was on the north coast of the Aegean Sea, and Athens was in the south. It would take a month for them to return to Athens with fair weather. A grim countenance engulfed him, and he uttered a small prayer to Poseidon, "Please oh great god of the sea, protecyt my young nephew, and may you grace him with success and a good journey. And please, urge him to be wary of the she-demon we encountered."

Meanwhile, Theseus strolled happily along.

_By: Joey_


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